As the world faces an evolving malnutrition crisis, with countries moving from the challenges of undernutrition and micronutrient deficiency to a crisis that encompasses also overweight and obesity, one thing remains constant: agriculture and the food system have an important role to play in ensuring access to a high-quality diet that includes a diversity of foods that are safe, and provides levels of energy appropriate to age, sex, disease state and physical activity as well as micronutrients.
... See More + This report will discuss direct and indirect policies, as well as program and project actions affecting diets with a focus on overweight and obesity, but not exclusively so. This is couched upon the realization that many of the suggested actions for reducing overweight and obesity also serve the purpose of reducing under nutrition and or micronutrient deficiency. The report uses the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition’s (Glopan) conceptual framework that shows the link between diet quality and the four sub-systems of the food system: agricultural production; food storage, transport and trade; food transformation; and food retail and provisioning. This report is an initial attempt to better understand how agriculture and food systems can contribute to and mitigate against the rising incidence of overweight and obesity, and to do so by presenting evidence-based interventions (policies and actions) in the agriculture and food systems domain.
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Despite significant progress the world continues to bear a triple burden of malnutrition. These three burdens are related, but distinctly different, problems: energy deficiencies (hunger), micronutrient deficiencies (hidden hunger), 3 and excessive net energy intake and unhealthy diets overweight/obesity).
... See More + Despite significant progress, 795 million people still are not getting the minimum dietary energy needs. The majority of these people are in Sub-Saharan Africa, in which 1 in 4 people are hungry; and in South Asia, in which 1 in 6 people are hungry. More than 2 billion people are deficient in key vitamins and minerals7 that are necessary for growth, development, and disease prevention. Globally, over 2 billion people are overweight or obese, two-thirds of whom live in developing countries. This issue clearly is not just a developed country problem. Energy and micronutrient deficiency are contributors to the 165 million children under 5 who are stunted and cannot grow to achieve their full potential. Globally, this number is equivalent to approximately 1 in 4 children under 5 years, with an even more concentrated situation in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (1 in 3 children). Arguably child stunting is one of the biggest development challenges. If not addressed it will profoundly undermine our ability to end poverty and promote shared prosperity.
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This book challenges policy makers who oversee the rice sector in Southeast Asia to reexamine deep-rooted precepts about their responsibilities.
... See More + As an essential first step, it calls on them to redefine food security. Fixating on national self-sufficiency has been costly and counterproductive. In its stead, coordination and cooperation can both improve rice production at home and structure expanding regional trade. To enhance regional food security through quantitative and qualitative gains in rice production, policy makers cannot solely rely on government programs. They need to also enlist private investors both as entrepreneurs and as partners who can bring capital, energy, modern technology, and experienced management into sustained efforts to reduce losses and heighten efficiency in supply chains. For such investors and participants to enter vigorously into the rice sector from which they have long held back, they will need a number of incentives, among them a confidence that the regional market for rice will evolve toward a structured, liberalized market shielded from the unilateral government interventions that have distorted it in the past and continue to do so in the present. The study's findings make it clear that current rice sector policies are not achieving their desired goals. Its examination of the 2007-08 food crises found, in fact, that government policies and panicky responses were the primary factors behind soaring (and later diminishing) rice prices. Those policies vary, but they share a common premise: food security depends, first of all, on self-sufficiency in rice. That premise has driven government intervention for decades, and unpredictable government intervention, in turn, has been a significant factor in making the rice sector too risky to attract significant private investment. The transition that this study urges will be difficult and, of necessity, slow to gain momentum. Nevertheless, it is already beginning. The members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are working to liberalize trade in the region. The study is, in fact, intended to assist in implementing policy objectives outlined in the ASEAN Integrated Food Security (AIFS) framework and in the strategic plan of action on food security in the ASEAN Region 2009-2013, in which the heads of member states pledged to embrace food security as a matter of permanent and high priority.
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Over the past 25 years China has made remarkable progress in raising the living standards of its people and in achieving sustained economic growth.
... See More + The number of rural poor people living under the official poverty line fell from 250 million in 1978 to 36 million in 1999, or from 31 percent to 4 percent of the rural population. In China formal rural finance is provided by the Agricultural Bank of China, the Agricultural Development Bank, and Rural Credit Cooperatives (RCCs). RCCs were established in the 1950s as legally independent entities. Although created at the township level, their presence in villages through branches and offices makes them the financial institution with the widest outreach among rural populations. By the end of 2001 more than 40,500 RCCs were operating, accounting for 11 percent of the banking sector's outstanding loans and 12 percent of deposits.
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